Taste of Summer

Up to now, we had an incredible March weather, it was more like Summer then a Spring – temperature in upper 20’s every day and the food I served reflected that very much.

 Grilled Lamb, Potatoes and Red Peppers. The lamb shoulder chops were marinated overnight in olive oil, garlic, rosemary and crushed white peppercorns and then grilled for 10 minutes on each side for medium done.

Braised Lamb with Rice and Vegetables. The lamb shoulder chops were marinated same way (and at the same time) as grilled chops, seared on both sides and then braised in white wine for 1-1/2 hours. Red pepper and celery were added and cooked for another 15 minutes. Incredibly tender and tasty.

 

 Strawberry Dumplings with Ricotta Cheese and Butter. Recipe is posted here.

Pork Tenderloin Kebab. In this version I used what I had in refrigerator: pork tenderloin, smoked thick sliced bacon, onions, zucchini and red pepper. Hot peppers and grilled King Oyster mushrooms were served on side.

Grilled Rib Eye Steak, Potato and King Oyster Mushrooms. The potatoes were pre-cooked in microwave oven and finished on a grill.

Pork Cevapcici (Ćevapčići)

Cevapcici is a national dish of Balkan states that formed former Yugoslavia. It consists of grilled minced or ground meat (lamb, beef or pork alone or any combination) formed into an oval sausage and is served with chopped onions, mustard and potatoes or rice. Besides Balkans all countries of Central and Eastern Europe have their own version. Wikipedia has an excellent entry on this summer meal favorite.

I prefer pork and lamb combination.

Ingredients

1 lb ground pork

1 lb ground lamb

1 egg white
1 Tbs. hot Dijon mustard

1 tsp. salt

4 cloves minced garlic

1/2 small onion, minced

1 tsp. hot Hungarian paprika

1 tsp. sweet Hungarian paprika

1 tsp. baking powder

Directions

Preheat a grill to medium-low heat.

In a large bowl, combine the ground pork, lamb, mustard and egg white.

Add the garlic, salt, baking powder, sweet and hot Hungarian paprika.

Mix well using your hands, and form into thick sausages about index finger long.

Oil the grill grate and grill sausages for about 15 minutes or until cooked through, turning till all sides are light gold.

Serve with boiled potatoes, chopped onions and mustard.

I served my Cevapcici on bed of chopped Napa cabbage and arugula.

Note: If grill is not available it is just as good to shallow fry with lard in heavy skillet. It takes about same time to cook on medium high heat.

Grilled Sardines - Sardinhas Assadas

Yesterday, for very first time, I prepared grilled sardines.

They were absolutely irresistable and what a revelation it was! I have worked with many Portuguese guys back In Toronto and they were talking about grilling sardines on barbecue every summer weekend. For some reason I was never tempted to give it a try. Too bad that I didn’t try it back in Toronto because during summer months one fish market where we used to shop had fresh sardines flown in from Portugal every Friday and they were sold out within hours. Now I know why.  Is this meal ever simple and good and when I say that it is simple, I mean that it is simple to prepare as well as cook. All you need is about 4 large sardines per person (scaled and cleaned), coarse sea salt, black pepper, caramelized onions (optional), lemon, olive oil and nice crusty Portuguese or Italian buns. As for cleaning the sardines, watch the video from YouTube, it is very detailed.

Needless to say, I bought another bag of frozen Portuguese sardines and when the weather is decent enough I will be grilling again.

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